


The Cat

by Vivinitias



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cat, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 17:03:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17471462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vivinitias/pseuds/Vivinitias
Summary: After the sunrise, everyone seems to be missing so much, with Prompto leading the way. He's lost his best and probably only friend. He tries to bury himself in work, counts the days that Noct's been gone and suddenly, change knocks at his door.





	The Cat

**Author's Note:**

> I read about this AU idea on Twitter (from @noctlis) and couldn't get past it. And since the prompter loved it, I might as well share it with you!

It’s been five weeks.

He knew for he counted every day. Every night.

It gave him a secure feeling, this dreary counting. Bluntly following the calendar. Checking off the days. Sitting on the roof at night, staring into the stars. Knowing he was up there. Unreachable. In a different way than he’d ever been.

It occupied him but that was it. There wasn’t more than that. Five weeks ago, everything was fine. Noct hasn’t been by his side but he lived. He didn’t have to give in to his fate. Five weeks ago he didn’t even _know_ what made up Noct’s fate. He just thought that Noct would gather his ancestor’s power and somehow made a cool move to finish off darkness. That he told himself lots of times.

Now Noct was gone and everything was empty.

As soon as dawn broke on this day people returned to their capital without even knowing if it would be possible to have a future here. They simply came, helped cleaning up the streets and repaired all the holes that Ardyn’s destructiveness left behind. After a short check, Ignis even stated that a majority of the residential areas have been mostly undestroyed and that people could move back without further delay.

Before they knew what was happening, the streets were cleaned up and cars could drive around again. Not many, just enough to make sure there was a constant backup on aliments and to secure the support for the returning refugees but it brought back some kind of hope. And that was something that no one could take them away.

Prompto had the possibility of going home, too, even though he had a growing sense of distress the closer he got to his old home. This house had sheltered him since he was a small boy, not really remembering his early childhood, and he cherished every moment he had lived through here. Loved the laugh of his parents when they were home. This house was filled with changes that he lived through. He just couldn’t get away from this. Didn’t want to lose more beloved memories.

It began in the fifth week just shortly after the provisional government was announced. They had assigned him to get an idea of the city, to keep in touch with the residents and to redirect every concern if there was one. For today, he had an incredibly important meeting in his district as one of the first shops reopened.

As soon as he left the house – frantic as usual and his breakfast in his hands – he stopped. On one of the stone cornerstone there sat a cat. It cheered him up. For one thing, he was a big animal fan but it also meant that stray animals returned as well. And stray animals were only there where there was food.

The cat meowed annoyed as if she wanted to have his breakfast. Prompto only shrugged.

“Next time,” he said as he passed the cat and ran towards work.

He’d already forgotten the cat when he returned home this evening. The cat didn’t forget him. Her black fur shone where the sun touched it. For an instant, he envied the cat a little bit. How much he wished to be laying around lazily playing video games or reading comics but he wasn’t that young anymore. He was supposed to take responsibilities and those he couldn’t just push onto someone else. Of course the cat meowed again but earned a shrug again. He hadn’t thought of seeing her again. Ever.

The next morning, he hadn’t thought about it neither.

Although it was said “All good things come by three” he was a little bit superstitious. Black cats brought bad luck and he did not want to have any more than he already had. He picked her up feeling rather unwell, ‘sh’ed the cat a few times and went off to work. This time his way lead him directly to the palace where they would be holding a meeting today. The government needed to take care of the tasks the old king had done and some of these consisted of discussions with Accordo and Tenebrae but also helping to build a government in Niflheim. Ignis and Gladio both were great politicians, Ignis more than Gladio, but Prompto … he wasn’t one. He didn’t have higher ambitions and also didn’t have the same political understanding. He was just a commoner, not a royal.

Before reaching the castle he came across a big crossroad. It’s been livelier here than a few weeks ago and it made him smile. All those voices, happily chatting or calling someone and those meows–No. Those weren’t supposed to be here. Then, after a moment of resigned realizing, he turned around. The cat had followed him.

“Look, I know that you look for attention and that you want to live somewhere and all but I don’t have time for that. I got probs on my own that I need to take care of,” he explained before shaking his head. He really talked to a cat? A bold one like that, too? He surely was in the dumper.

How much he’d love to have an actual talk with real humans. About hobbies, life, interests. Everything what you’d discuss in a normal conversation. Currently, all of his talks with real humans only consisted of rationalization measures, local elections and increased import duty.

Painfully, he realised how much he missed Noct. Thanks, cat.

Hastily, he turned around, crossed the green lights which turned red halfway and ran into the palace without turning around once. It was a stray animal that had left its’ owner. Now that life came back into the city, it simply wanted to have an owner again. Someone to feed it and give it a shelter. No, Prompto told himself. He hadn’t slept for almost ten years in a real bed. Like the cat would actually know what it’s like to be there.

Yet he returned with a bottle of cat milk and a can of cat food in the evening. He didn’t like the pet that much since it followed him everywhere but it also didn’t seem to eat anything as long as he didn’t stop by a trash can so it could dive into it. Prompto didn’t want to torture the cat.

 

A few days later he built a little shelter on his front lawn for the cat where it slept when it rained. By day, it followed him around. It didn’t care if Prompto called something encouraging or tried to drive it away or ignored it. Even when he left the house in a hurry, the cat followed him right away.

Even Ignis took notice because the cat kept on meowing when people were around. He made a joke how fast he’d found new comrades which actually hurt Prompto more than he admitted. Nothing could ever replace this group with which he went through so many adventures and shaped his whole life. It was rather sad that the old group somehow did not seem to exist anymore.

 

The cat lived on his front lawn and kept distance. Prompto bought cat food on a regular base. It was a nice arrangement that helped him slowly yet steadily to cope with the death of his best and probably only friend.

 

It was one of those mild summer evenings, three or four weeks after the cats’ appearance when Prompto lay on his lawn in the garden. The sun was dripping the sky into a deep chocobo yellow. Thin clouds merely covering it. A soft breeze swept through the trees and brushed his hair.

Prompto hadn’t counted the days since then. He simply had forgotten about it. Just like that. His best friend. His only. Were it eight weeks already? Nine? More than two months at least yet … he couldn’t tell. Remorsefully he dropped his usual distant self. Tears ran over his cheeks. There wasn’t anyone to keep thinking of him. He needed to keep up the remembrance of his friend. He!

The familiar meow of the cat caught him off his self-loathing. He hadn’t even given it a name because he just didn’t think it would stay around that long. That it would just leave. Never stay. Leaving him like they all did. In its mouth it carried a small fish, probably one from one of the neighbours’ ponds. Presumably not edible but the cat did not care.

“Y’know, my best friend used to love fish. He couldn’t get enough of it and whenever he had the possibility to catch one he was furious for it. Then he could go on for days.” Prompto chuckled a little. “He always lay around all day and slept when we were still in school.”

The cat kept its’ distance and put the fish down. Its’ stare was restless while taking a look around the garden. Probably trying to find some birds.

Maybe because Prompto didn’t have any real contacts for a while he had the urge to pet the cat. To show it that it somewhere was welcomed and he liked to see it. Accepted it and maybe even let it into his house. As if knowing his wish the cat came over to him and sat down right next to him. Its’ blue eyes were almost looking through him, focussed on something else.

Suddenly, Prompto sat up, carefully picked up the cat and let it down on his lap. It must have been an illusion. He wasn’t able to explain it otherwise.

“You’ve got his eyes,” he whispered almost dignified. The cat responded by touching his cheek with its’ paw.

It understood.

 _He_ understood. His Eyes. His fur color. His laziness. His favouritism for fish cat food.

As if this had broken a dam within him, tears covered his face, silent and without any sobbing. He carefully pressed himself against the cat, petted his head and whispered that it must have been a present by the gods.

The cat just meowed and purred.

 

Prompto changed the location of the shelter into his garden and picked up a new sleeping pillow on which Noct, his new roommate, never slept. He’d sleep by the end of the bed and looked over him. Now, Prompto was okay with the idea of having found some new comrade. He didn’t even flinch whenever they started to talk about his cat that followed him everywhere. Instead he told them proudly that Noct could go wherever he liked because he was the king and kings have those kinds of rights.

And the bros understood him. More than he’d ever hoped they would.

  



End file.
